Recipe Disaster?
My husband and I were in Belgium last weekend, and one of our activities was a Beer and Waffles workshop because those are two Belgian classics all in one activity. We tasted several Belgian beers to determine which one we wanted to use as part of our waffle batter, chose the Trappist-style one, and got down to work following the recipe provided.
We were doing great until it was time to fold in the egg whites. Something didn’t feel right when I folded them in…and the light bulb went off when I saw everyone else pull out their electric mixers and start beating the egg whites. Somehow, we missed the word “whipped” in the sentence about folding in the egg whites. I should have known this was a key step but it just didn’t connect.
The bad news… our waffles were not as fluffy as those that followed the directions properly…and you can see our output in the picture.
The good news… they still tasted amazing.
Whether we’re talking about our careers or how we lead organizations, our “recipe” will need customization to fit the situation. That customization may come due to an unplanned error or missing ingredient or it could be intentional (choice of what type of liquid to use). As leaders, we need to be able to adapt when things don’t go as expected because that will be our reality more often than we may like. Experience the initial frustration but then move on quickly to how to make the situation work.
The process model I use with clients, I-CAN, assumes these situations will happen. The “N” is for navigate. Navigate when circumstances change or when things don’t go according to the plan you created.
When have you had a good outcome (though different) when your plan or recipe didn’t go as initially outlined? What did you learn from the experience? I’d love to hear so send me a message and let me know.
I’m excited to share one link where you can find all of the Canopy Strategy resources.
Check them out here and let me know which ones are most useful for you.